Both FIT AND export payments to be cancelled next year

[PeterW]

11 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said:

With respect I think this is just a British blind spot, a bit Googling reveals a healthy market for DC led lightning overseas.

 

Probably ... a 1% addressable market would make it attractive but if google is the source of a definitive data set then I would be worried. 

 

DC lighting on a boat is a very different beast to a house - just look at the sheer volume of wiring to begin with.

 

DC lighting in boats is also limited in the UK due to archaic regulations on inshore boats, and legacy design in yachts as inverters are seen as inefficient and a heavy piece of equipment that is not essential. 

 

Most modern larger boats use 120 or 230v depending on where they are built so DC lighting isn’t a major player and is essentially niche market. It’s based around the 12/24v battery technology that has not changed in decades. 

 

 

[Nickfromwales]

Ok, as this has hit the mother of all digressions, ive added my two-penneth here ;

 

Please be so kind as to continue the battery chat there please and leave this thread to the FiT and export discussions.  

Thanks. 

The management. 

[Big Neil]

I might have just missed the answer in this thread but in case not, Is warranty a concern for anyone? As an example i was given an estimate of i think about £7K if i recall which used sunpower panels for a circa 4kwp system, fully installed, installation warrantied for 10 years, panels and their energy production guaranteed for 25. Now obviously you could chop out a big portion of that 7K by self installing, but then if something goes wrong, what would you fall back on.

 

IN addition, in efficiency terms, would you be equally happy with double the panels at half the efficiency versus a system half the size using properly efficient panels?

[PeterW]

Efficiency on panels is in the top teens to low twenties anyway. A 20% reduction would be from 20-16% so I wouldn’t be concerned. 

[Jeremy Harris]

Plus all panels lose a lot of efficiency as they get hot anyway, and temperature differences between one installation and another (due differences in cooling) may well partially nullify the relatively small change in efficiency between the various panels available at the moment.

 

 

[Big Neil]

cool

What about the cost saving of a DIY installation  as compared to the peace of mind from having a warrantied installation?

[Alexphd1]

@Big Neil £7k for a 4kw mcs system sounds pretty high. 

[Big Neil]

@Alexphd1 Really? Fully installed connected, and warrantied? That didn't seem too bad to me. Don't get me wrong i've found cheaper, but suspiciously so.

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, Big Neil said:

@Alexphd1 Really? Fully installed connected, and warrantied? That didn't seem too bad to me. Don't get me wrong i've found cheaper, but suspiciously so.

Just had a quote for a client for £8200 for a split East /South array iirc 5.7kWp. 

Solar edge inverter ( 12 year warranty ) and optimisation included, plus costs include extending each panel cable to a central attic space for optimisers, and then dropping to the garage to the inverter. So could be a bit cheaper for a less bespoke install. 

All black in roof panels btw. 25 year life expectancy ( warrantied ) with the panels. 

PM if you want details ?

[Alexphd1]

The mcs v non mcs route has been discussed in depth on many threads on here. Without starting a new one I think you are looking at approx £2k premium for a MCS installation. It's a high price for a couple of days of labour and a signature. If you can shop around and diy yourself it's a close call. Be aware unfortunately there are still a lot of rip off merchants in the solar pv industry but there a few genuine ones.  I chose the MCS route, it added up for me.

[Ferdinand]

6 hours ago, Big Neil said:

I might have just missed the answer in this thread but in case not, Is warranty a concern for anyone? As an example i was given an estimate of i think about £7K if i recall which used sunpower panels for a circa 4kwp system, fully installed, installation warrantied for 10 years, panels and their energy production guaranteed for 25. Now obviously you could chop out a big portion of that 7K by self installing, but then if something goes wrong, what would you fall back on.

 

IN addition, in efficiency terms, would you be equally happy with double the panels at half the efficiency versus a system half the size using properly efficient panels?

 

Hi Neil.

 

Warranty is something of a concern though they seem to be pretty reliable, but mine also gave me a couple of spare panels and Solaredge micro-wotsits when I asked them the day before finally agreeing the order. It was a 9.98kWp install, however, and 35 panels on 3 elevations all with Solaredge. £11.7k in 2016. Warranty not materially different from yours.

 

That £7k should be more like £4,5k-£5k unless you are on a street needing a scaffold permit etc in London, or Fort Boyard, or other special circumstances.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited September 7, 2018 by Ferdinand

[Jeremy Harris]

I think when comparing costs it is worth looking at how much safe access adds to the bill.  Scaffolding is almost always needed for a pitched roof installation and can add a fair bit to the overall cost.  I know our original quote dropped a fair bit when I asked if they'd included scaffolding costs, then pointed out that they could remove that element as we'd already have scaffolding in place.

 

Where you are in the country also seems to make a significant difference, with there being pretty wide variations in labour cost from one area to another.

 

It's probably hard to make accurate comparisons between quotes for installations of the same capacity but on different houses in different areas, I think.  The best we can hope for is to get some sort of ball-park estimate that indicates whether a given quote looks reasonable or not.